Explaining a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) procedure is best left to the experts. But promoting the life-changing benefits of the procedure is easy when you have the proof.Read full post...

The breathtaking action is then followed by a line of microscopic type at the end that states, “Stunt driver on closed course. Do not attempt.” Hey, I’m going to fight the urge!

Every weight-loss TV ad worth its salt has a “results not typical” disclaimer at the end of it. You know what I mean. You see a newly svelte man or woman standing inside a pair of giant jeans that once housed their enormous frames — with the disclaimer, “Results not typical.” If these “results” aren’t typical, why in the world are they showing them? Oh yeah, it’s advertising.

While I’m not an attorney by trade, my copywriting background has made me proficient at crafting disclaimer copy. The disclaimer has been described as those few seconds of legalese at the end of an ad designed to take all the fun and fantasy out of what you’ve just witnessed. (Actually, that was my description. See? I told you I was a writer!)

Some of my favorite TV disclaimers: You’ve seen the fast-paced spot that feature 57 seconds of an exotic sports car wildly careening down a snowy mountainside or racing on two wheels around the rim of an active volcano. Let’s call it glorifying some form of death-cheating behavior. Read full post...

Gone are the dartboards and the expensive lunches with reps. We don’t have time for that. We’re too busy analyzing data.

Analyze analyze analyze, buy buy buy — that’s the credo of today’s media department. But it wasn’t always so. When I first started, my first boss told me that the way to “buy” was to look at the rate cards (yes, we had them then), determine which programs had the highest rates and put the plan together using those programs. With deep enough pockets, you could still make that work today. But now a lot of other factors — mainly research — enter into buying, making the job both easier and more challenging.

In the old days, television had two sources of local research, Arbitron and Nielsen; most other information was national. The demographics available were limited. We bought the top stations/programs if the budget allowed. Simple. Now we have only one research source — Nielsen — with a plethora of demographics. And Nielsen is owned by Arbitron. Hmmm.Read full post...

The actors and writers tweet in response to keep the conversation fun.

It’s been a long day. I just want to come home and chill out. After having some dinner and getting everything squared away for the next day, I plop down on my comfy couch for my prime time show of the night that I’ve waited all day to watch. Who cares that I’ve changed into sweatpants or taken my makeup off? I’m shielded from the public while watching the private lives of others — real and fictional. But now I’m watching my shows with millions of other fans, thanks to social media.

No more waiting for the next day’s lunchroom chatter or a text from your best friend during a commercial to find out how others feel about every OMG moment. Social media is a-buzz during airings, and some posts are even crawling across TV screens!

With websites like Hulu and Netflix, watching TV whenever and wherever you want has grown in popularity. Gone are the days of anxiously waiting for the next episode of Grey’s Anatomy.  Even with online binge watching’s growing popularity, live conversation about various shows has brought viewers back to the couch with a modern TV experience.

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Waiting an entire week to watch the next episode of your favorite TV show is beginning to seem as outdated as watching a show in real time. The DVR liberated millions of people from having to be in front of the television at a certain time on a certain day of the week. And now in an unprecedented move, Netflix recently released all 13 commercial-free episodes of its original show House of Cards – at the same time.Read full post...